Redhotjazz.com was a crown jewel of the early internet. Starting in the mid ’90s it made the offline discographies and biographies of early jazz available to the online public. It also hosted thousands of audio files donated by people who were digitizing their 78 RPM record collections, making many obscure recordings available for the first time. This all started long before Youtube and even before Wikipedia was much more than an idea.
We are duplicating the content of the Red Hot Jazz Archive from a snapshot saved in Archive.org’s Wayback Machine. Keeping with both the original intent and mission of Redhotjazz.org everything will be publicly available outside of our paywall. For ease of use we are improving each entry to meet the norms of the phone friendly modern internet.
The downloadable music files are mostly MP3s but some are in the ancient Real Audio (.ra) format. Rather than opening a new tab so you can stream or download them the Real Audio files will immediately download when you click them. Don’t be frightened. You don’t need Real Audio player to play them but they won’t work on Windows Media Player. We recommend the free and open source VLC player.
For more information read: About the Archive
The New Orleans Owls descended from The Invincibles String Band which had been playing around New Orleans since 1912. The band played regularly at the
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Dark Town Strutters Ball (Shelton Brooks) 4-5-1928 Chicago, Illinois Paramount 12654-B 20564-2 Friars Point Shuffle (Eddie Condon / Red McKenzie ) 4-5-1928
Here are some Austin High Gang recordings with a very young Gene Krupa inspiring them with his driving beat on the drums. Eddie Condon does the vocal on There’ll Be Some
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Harlem Fuss (Fats Waller) 3-1-1929 New York, New York Victor V-38050 Bluebird 10185 I Need Someone Like You (Abel
George Lewis (July 13, 1900 – December 31, 1968) was one of the Jazz musicians who didn’t leave New Orleans in the 1920s. He stayed
Jelly Roll Morton had a hit with his 1923 version of Wolverine Blues. This stirred interest with the the Victor company who were just starting to get
Lillie Delk Christian has an absolutely great backup band on these sessions, but her vocals often leave a little to be desired. The best of
These fine sessions caused a lot of discord in the Armstrong household. Columbia records approached Lil Hardin-Armstrong about writing and recording some songs. Louis was not allowed
Two records of this session were released under the name of the New Orleans Wanderers. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Flat Foot (Lil Hardin
Johnny Dodds (April 12, 1892 – August 8, 1940) was one of the greatest clarinetist of the 1920’s. Although both Jimmie Noone and Sidney Bechet had better technique,
Baby Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was one of first great drummers of Jazz and the brother of Johnny Dodds. Baby got
Violinist Carroll Dickerson was leader of this orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago. The orchestra also toured the Pantages Vaudeville circuit. The band included
Violinist Carroll Dickerson led this orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom at South Parkway and East 47th Street in Chicago and toured the Pantages Vaudeville circuit.
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band was one of the best and most important bands in early Jazz. The Creole Jazz Band was made up of
In 1910 Honore Dutrey (c. 1894 in New Orleans, Louisiana – July 21, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) started playing trombone in various bands in New Orleans, including Jimmie Noone’s outfit.
Bud Scott (January 11, 1890 – July 2, 1949) was a multi-instrumentalist who could play the banjo, six-string guitar and violin, and at one point
Fess Williams led bands in both Chicago and New York in the 1920s and early 1930s. He seemed to model himself after Ted Lewis wearing a top
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Dixie Stomp (Tremaine) 4-3-1928 Chicago, Illinois Vocalion 15690 Drifting And Dreaming (Haven Gillespie / Egbert Van Alstyne) 4-3-1928 Chicago,
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Bogalousa Strut (Sam Morgan) 10-22-1927 New Orleans, Louisiana Columbia 14351-D Down By The Riverside (traditional) 10-22-1927 New Orleans,
Keyboard player and arranger Tiny Parham (February 25, 1900 – April 4, 1943) was born in Canada, but grew up in Kansas City. He got
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Ain’t It Nice? (Alex Hill / Irving Mills) 9-10-1934 New York, New York Vocalion 2826-B Functionizin’ (Fats Waller) 9-10-1934 New York,
Sammy Stewart’s Ten Knights Of Syncopation were originally from Columbus, Ohio. The band started out in 1918 performing under the name of Sammy Stewart’s Singing
Jazz musicians, writers and critics are almost universal in turning a sour face when the mention of a society band or sweet music is made.
Also see: Wade’s Moulin Rouge Orchestra Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Gates Blues 10-10-1928 Chicago, Illinois Vocalion 1236 C-2429-A Gates Blues 10-10-1928 Chicago, Illinois Vocalion
